


Hidden Audio

by Nicxan



Category: The Stanley Parable
Genre: Gen, Happy 4/27!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-27
Updated: 2017-04-27
Packaged: 2018-10-24 14:15:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10743366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nicxan/pseuds/Nicxan
Summary: There are audio files that are hidden from Stanley.She uses these to remember.





	Hidden Audio

The rooms were quiet.  
  
Stanley was not in her museum.

For now, she had no purpose. Not in the grand scheme of things. It hadn’t been too long ago when he came by last, and it would be a long while before he would return.   
  
She would have to make use of the time she had for herself.   
  
The other narrator crossed one leg over the other, and tilted her head up to look at the ceiling. She had been sitting in the Narration Outtakes exhibit for what felt like hours. Time meant nothing here, however; she’d wait as long as it took to hear the audio files she hid at the end.   
  
Audio files that Stanley would never, ever hear.

His voice finally faded in. The sound became louder, clearer - a far cry from the regular outtakes. _"Why, I think I have it right this time. I've certainly put enough work into it. Go on, take a look."_ Shuffling papers could be heard over the speakers. _"Tell me what you think."_

Silence filled the room, save for the sound of turning pages. _'I was reading the script, then,'_ she thought to herself.

Her own voice spoke to her a few moments later. _"There's potential. I think you could tell a fantastic story with what you have - but it needs work."_ Even now, she could imagine the Narrator as he physically deflated.

" _Still!?_ " He let out a defeated sigh.

_"Some of the dialog needs to be fixed. It's quite heavy-handed."_

" _For God's sake --"_ He caught himself, then resumed. _"Terribly sorry. I know you're trying to help. See, the storyteller's supposed to be unreliable. And not very good at what they do._ "

" _Oh, are they?_ " She hated the shock in her voice. Looking back, it had to be an insulting reaction. " _Well, if that's the case, let me look again. You might have to make that a bit more obvious._ "

" _Well, yes, I didn't want to slap them in the face with it."_ She chuckled to herself, then resumed listening. _"Readers aren't as stupid as everyone thinks they are. I wanted to provoke some critical thinking. I want the audience to figure this out on their own._ "

" _I see. That's smart. Then, perhaps, for this part in the mind control facility ..._ "

Their conversation grew dimmer, and eventually faded out entirely.  
  
That conversation happened so very long ago. By now, she knew that he didn’t remember any point where they weren’t at odds. Her heart ached.

" _You need to take a break._ " Her finger twitched. The audio paused, but then resumed.   
  
No matter how much she wanted to, she couldn’t skip this audio. It was too important.

" _No, I'm fine - look at how close I am! I just have to put the finishing touches on this, and I can move on to the next ending._ " She remembered the tired, yet crazed look in his eye. The nearly-finished models for the Zending had caught her eye, as well.

He had been working for almost 24 hours straight, she recalled. Perhaps this is where the story had started to cause problems. Or, perhaps, this is when she realized that it had at all.

" _This is important to you. I understand."_ She had sounded pleading. _"But you, as my friend, are more precious to me than a story we're working on. Please, get some rest._ "

" _I know what I'm doing! You've stayed up with me before, you can't tell me that you're suddenly too good for it now!_ " Even now, his sudden anger made her flinch. Delicate hands gripped the fabric of her skirt. Her shoulders tensed.

" _... That was months ago, when we started this project. It only happened once. You've been doing this for weeks --_ "

" _Then I, more than anyone, would know my limits. Not_ you _. How about this - you leave me alone, let me finish this ending, and I'll get some sleep if you're that insistent on it._ "

Her desperation hid behind a firm, authoritative tone. " _I am._ "

His irritation, however, was clear. " _Fine._ "

She had realized far, far too late that the story had changed him for the worst. Perhaps she didn't want to admit it to herself. Perhaps she held out hope that he'd come to his senses. Writers, after all, were quite passionate. That initial buzz to finish a work did peter out eventually. It’s what kept her hopeful, at first.  
  
The light bulb above her seat continued to swing.

" _I'm perfectly capable of finishing this without you._ "

" _What?”_ She could pinpoint exactly when her shock turned to hurt, and then to indignance. Amazing what the power of one word could do. _“I've edited your work every step of the way! I'm just as invested as you are. Please, I want to finish our project together._ "

" _It's_ my _project - I've shown the dedication and time required to make it. What you have done is tear me down constantly, telling me to do this, change that, fix this, when I know what's best for_ my _story. What's the saying? Ah, yes: 'Too many cooks spoil the broth.' Surely you understand._ "

" _I don't. All stories need an editor behind it, to help bring out the best in it._ "

" _This one doesn't. Now, leave. I'm sure someone else will make use of your ever-so fantastic ideas. The Stanley Parable, however, doesn't need your 'contributions'._ " The click of heels echoed over the speakers. A door slammed.

The silence was deafening.

Her eyes brimmed with tears. Instead of letting them fall, she rubbed her eyes with her sleeve. ' _Take a deep breath. This is necessary. You have to remember why you're here._ '   
  
Even if he couldn’t recall how close they were, and what they had lost, she had to free him of this pointless cycle. She couldn’t even bring herself to think about just leaving him here. No one deserved that.   
  
Especially not him.   
  
‘ _This is enough for now._ ’ She rose from her seat.   
  
She didn’t bother looking back as she went back to her office.

**Author's Note:**

> (( Glad I managed to get this done! Errors aside, I'm happy with it as is, especially since the idea came to me so late and I had such little time to work on it. The other narrator doesn't get enough love, tbh.  
> Thanks to Trish for looking this over before I put it up!
> 
> Happy 4/27, everyone! :D ))


End file.
